


When in Reim

by pepperine



Category: Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
Genre: Canon Universe, F/M, Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-17
Updated: 2015-05-17
Packaged: 2018-03-30 22:21:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3953938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pepperine/pseuds/pepperine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kougyoku's understanding of Sindrian customs is a bit flawed, but Alibaba sees nothing wrong with that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	When in Reim

**Author's Note:**

> The sole reason for this fic’s existence is for Alibaba to get overexcited and use the (incredibly silly) titular expression. (Posted on my blog [here](http://himegimi.tumblr.com/post/119160934294/when-in-reim-alibaba-kougyoku).)

Their footsteps echoed off the marble floor as they ran, the pair slowing as they gasped with laughter. Alibaba felt a stitch forming in his side, but he held tight to Kougyoku's hand and kept going nonetheless, pulling her along behind him. The moon was bright and the night air sweet, and the sounds of the party grew increasingly faint as they ran further from it. Spartos' birthday celebration should have been a private palace event, but half the kingdom showed up nevertheless, and Sinbad wouldn't dream of turning them away.

Without warning, Alibaba swerved into the shadow of a pillar lining one side of the walkway, and Kougyoku shrieked with glee as she was swung around by her own momentum, stumbling but landing safely in the third prince's arms. The white fabric of her dress floated dreamily behind her –the dress Ka Koubun had forbidden her from wearing to the party he'd told her she could not attend in order to talk to the boy she should not have befriended. It had all seemed horribly unfair to Alibaba when she explained it to him, so, naturally, the wine in his belly dictated he encourage his new friend to do exactly the opposite.

"We'll never lose him if you make so much noise," Alibaba laughed, breathless and covering Kougyoku's mouth with a hand as he held her within the shadows, her back pressed against his side. If he had been entirely sober, he would not have even considered running when he'd made eye contact with the princess's livid attendant across the party, nor would he have had the courage to pull her against him like this as they hid from him together behind a stone column.

Kougyoku clutched the hand covering her face with both of her own, tipping her head back to expose her mouth. Alibaba's arm remained around her shoulders. Her  _bare_  shoulders.

"He can't run," she panted, grinning widely. "He's got asthma." Standing like this, he could see down the front of Kougyoku's dress; although it was more substantial than what Morgiana had been given for the Maharagan, it was certainly of the same ilk. Alibaba pulled his gaze away from her heaving chest, grateful running had already made his heart pound and his face turn red.

"Seemed to me like he could run pretty well," he said, glancing around the pillar at the door they'd just come through. His arm tightened around Kougyoku as he laughed again, trying to keep quiet. "He almost knocked my master right off his feet trying to catch you." His cheeks hurt from smiling too much. This was worlds apart from the kinds of things he did with Aladdin and Morgiana.

"My goodness, did he really?" She seemed to relax against him a bit, giggling and still holding onto his hand. Alibaba always felt he had to be the grownup with his other friends, making decisions, paying for things, guiding Morgiana and keeping Aladdin from getting in too much trouble. But Kougyoku was different; she was by no means his responsibility. She was not bound to him, nor he to her, and this sense of freedom allowed him to act the child for once. "I was too scared to look."

The wine also helped, of course.

"Pretty sure master spilled a drink on one of his friends, too," Alibaba snorted. His breathing was beginning to slow, just a little. The scent of Kougyoku's perfume was heavy like this, his face so close to her neck.

"You mean he's friends with one of those hostesses?" the princess asked. She smelled sweet, like fruit syrup and then something more flowery, and focusing on it —on all the sensations of her in his arms— made him feel like this was just a bit too surreal.

"Yeah, I think he's close with a lot of them, actually," Alibaba said, urging himself back into his own mind. He couldn't remember which ones exactly, but he knew his master hung around with some of the girls with him tonight outside of their working hours. To call them 'friends' was phrasing their relationship rather delicately, but he didn't know how else to describe it to a princess, even if she _had_ witnessed them necking firsthand.

"Then, in this country—" Before she could say any more, the door they'd come through at the end of the gallery banged open. Alibaba clapped his hand back over Kougyoku's mouth. She stiffened against him, and he pulled her a little closer at the sound of Ka Koubun's coughing. A column of golden lamplight from inside the palace stretched down the walkway, but the two remained hidden within the shadows, overcome by a giddy sort of fear and frozen in place.

"Your Highness!" the attendant wheezed, shutting the door and pausing against it to sigh before starting to jog weakly down the gallery. "Princess Kougyoku! Where are you, Princess?!" His voice echoed off the stone, softened only by the swishing of his long robes as he moved.

Carefully, using the sounds of Koubun's footsteps as he passed as a guide, Alibaba edged himself and Kougyoku around the back of the pillar. She complied, keeping herself pressed against him, her breath hot and shaky against his hand. Their white clothes were illuminated far too brightly as they stepped out into the moonlight, biting their lips and trying to hold back their laughter.

Alibaba knew the princess would be in a world of trouble for this later, and he anticipated some sort of lecture for himself as well, but as the door at the other end of the gallery slammed shut behind Koubun, he realized it didn't matter. Kougyoku would return home soon, likely never to have this sort of fun again, and Alibaba's own carefree days in Sindria were already drawing to a close. He wanted to enjoy whatever he could now, and he wanted the same for Kougyoku.

And much to his satisfaction, it was she who burst out laughing first, sagging back around the stone column as his hold on her loosened. She was positively glowing, her cheeks rosy and her eyes alight, and Alibaba honestly wished he'd gotten to see this side of her sooner. It seemed like a waste that they'd spent so long being cold to one another.

"I feel so _bad_ ," Kougyoku urged amidst her giggles, wiping at the tears of laughter that threatened to spill down her face. "I've never heard him coughing like that before!"

"You think we should turn ourselves in, then?" Alibaba joked, grinning broadly. He peeked around the column at the door, wondering how long they had here before Ka Koubun gave up and doubled back. He had only a vague idea of where they were now, someplace in the northern part of the palace, not far from where he trained with his master, but not a place he passed through often. The gallery was pretty tucked away, so there were bound to be a few dead ends attached to it.

"No, of course not!" Kougyoku said, leaning forward to peer at whatever he was looking at. The smile on her face was mischievous and far too pleased, and she giggled again as she straightened herself up once more, her hands finding one of Alibaba's and giving it a squeeze. "I've never done anything like this before. We can't give up on it so soon."

"I s'pose we can't," he agreed with a laugh of his own. He couldn't place why, but he kind of liked Kougyoku holding his hand, and not in the same way he liked holding hands with Aladdin or Morgiana.

She had painted her fingernails, he noticed, staring down at her hands covering his own. It was hard to see in just the moonlight, but she had definitely painted her nails pink. Alibaba hadn't really spent much time around women after his mother died —at least not affluent women like Kougyoku— and so he'd never actually seen this kind of thing up close. Carefully, he twisted his wrist to bring her nails completely into the light, admiring the color with a slow, detached sort of curiosity.

"Hey, um..." Her voice was tentative against the silence that had fallen over them. "You and I... We're friends, right?"

Alibaba let out a chuckle, somehow unable to tear his gaze away from her fingertips. It might just be because he couldn't see well, but the lacquer on Kougyoku's nails looked impossibly smooth.

"Hm? Yeah, sure. Definitely." Idly, he wondered if she always kept them painted like this, or if the paint would chip off whenever she fought with her sword. Surely it must. It was only paint, right?

"Then, I think you should kiss me."

Quite quickly, Alibaba's interest in nail polish disappeared. It was like an ocean wave had crashed over him from out of nowhere, heart suddenly racing and breath not wanting to leave his chest.

"Huh...?" was the only sound he was capable of making. What was she getting at? What did she even _mean_?

"W-Well, it's something I've always wanted to try, but... You know..." Kougyoku glanced away, moonlight catching on her eyelashes, dark and impossibly long. "So I thought maybe you could...before I leave... It should be fine, because...that's what people do with their friends in Sindria, right?"

Alibaba opened his mouth to say something, though he wasn't sure what. She was clearly mistaken about local customs, but when she looked back up at him again, her gaze earnest and imploring, he felt as though the world had fallen away around him.

She was asking him for a kiss. Ren Kougyoku, Eighth Imperial Princess of the Kou Empire, his  _friend_ , was holding his hand and asking, against all propriety, to be kissed. And much to his surprise, Alibaba wasn't averse to the idea. Not one bit.

He certainly wasn't in love with her, of that much he was sure; he'd really only gotten to know her a few days ago. But that could change just as quickly as they became friends in the first place, he reasoned. Kougyoku was beautiful, and strong, and fun to talk to, and she seemed so happy to spend time with him, and—

"Y- _Yeah_ , " Alibaba heard himself saying, his mouth a step ahead of his mind. He might not love her, but he absolutely refused to close the door on the possibility that he soon might. If he was lucky, a kiss now could lead to another one later, and if he was _really_ lucky, maybe even some more after that. He felt himself grinning, horribly pleased with where this train of thought was going.

"You will?" The smile of relief on Kougyoku's face was so incredibly lovely, he could hardly contain himself. No, he thought, everything about her was lovely, from the sound of her voice to the way her hair framed her face and her skin seemed to glow in the moonlight. How had he not noticed this before?

"When in Reim, right?" he laughed a bit too loudly, heart pounding wildly in excitement. 

"But we're in Sindria," she said, confusion in her eyes but the smile never leaving her lips, and Alibaba was just a bit too tipsy to keep himself from chucking again. She was so cute he couldn't help it.

"It's an expression," he said knowingly, placing the hand she wasn’t holding on her shoulder. She glanced down at it and then back up at him, cheeks flushing as her fingers squeezed his own. Kougyoku's hands were small, but not childlike. _Ladylike_.

"I see, then," she giggled, those ladylike hands slipping from his to clasp together in front of her chest. "When in Reim, I suppose," she repeated with rather enthusiastic finality, leaving little room for doubt in Alibaba's mind as to whether or not she actually cared to learn that that was only _part_ of the expression.

She continued to gaze up at him, and Alibaba could feel nervousness beginning to melt into his excitement, and he let out a sort of wobbly little hum. It looked as though Kougyoku was simply waiting for him to lean in and kiss her now, pink eyes soft and expectant and trained on his mouth.

"So— So you really want me to just..." He trailed off, not really certain of how to go about doing this. He could feel his face growing hotter by the second. It wasn't like he had any experience (aside from that one time with the hostess in Qishan, but he'd hated that and determined shortly thereafter that it didn't count), and he'd rather Kougyoku not know that, but he still wanted to make, like, _extra_ sure he wasn't about to make an ass of himself.

"Please," she said with a nod, possibly angling her face up toward him a little better. Her voice was just above a whisper. "It's fine..."

Alibaba stared. His heart was pounding and her lips looked soft and he was so excited he could barely feel himself breathing. He was going to do it. He was going to kiss a girl. A _real_ girl, made of flesh and blood and not just dreams, one who was paying attention to _him_ and not just his money. He hoped Kassim was watching this.

"'Kay..." was all he could manage. Slowly, Alibaba began to lean in, praying he wouldn't screw this up.

But then he felt himself stop, mere inches from her mouth. Kougyoku's eyes were still fixed on his, watching his every move, and his nerves had gotten the better of him. Awkwardly, he let out a giggle.

" _Wait_ ," he said, covering his mouth with his hand and turning away from the princess for a moment. So much for not screwing up. "I can't..." Alibaba looked back at her, grinning sheepishly. His face was burning, and his fingers twitched with both excitement and anxiety. Even with a few drinks in him, he couldn't help but feel a bit shy about this. "You've gotta close your eyes first."

"Ah!" Kougyoku's own cheeks grew even redder than they already were, and her eyes fluttered shut, long lashes standing out starkly against her skin. "Sorry!" she peeped. Her knuckles had gone white, hands still clasped together in front of her, and maybe it emboldened Alibaba to see she was a little nervous, too.

"It's okay," he breathed, to her and to himself, finally finding the courage to bring his fingertips to her face. This was it, he told himself, this was really it. If he couldn't do it now, he would never be able to live with himself.

Carefully, he nudged the princess's chin up, and she complied, her skin soft as flower petals against his fingers. Head spinning and heart thundering within his ribcage, Alibaba's eyes slipped shut as he leaned in a second time, finally pressing his mouth to Kougyoku's.

The kiss was slow and tentative, but his breath was gone in an instant. Alibaba had not been expecting the immediacy of it, the warm and very real feeling of those painted lips moving against his own. He melted into the sensation, his fingers slipping from Kougyoku's chin, but before he could place his hand somewhere to better steady her against him, she began to pull away. In spite of the disappointment washing over him, he let her go.

She blinked up at him once, twice, her eyes glassy and her lips parted, and Alibaba found he was in too much awe of what had just happened to speak. He had only ever seen her look at Sinbad this way, and really, this gaze on him just made him want to kiss her more, over and over again until she would finally laugh and bat him away. But instead of allowing him the opportunity, Kougyoku squeaked and covered her red face with her hands, then all but launched herself into his chest. Alibaba caught her, grinning even as he staggered back a step; she was simply too cute to bear.

"I can't believe you really did that!" Kougyoku wailed against his shirt, and he was pretty sure it was a happy wail. His arms wrapped around her bare shoulders, keeping her close. Part of him wished someone would happen upon them like this –his master, maybe. He'd be the most impressed.

"You _asked_ me to!" Alibaba laughed, feeling what was left of his apprehension fading away. Now that the kiss was behind them, it seemed almost silly that he'd been nervous in the first place.

"Still!" Kougyoku squeaked, probably grinning even in indignation. She pressed herself against him, hiding her face in embarrassment, and Alibaba’s arms tightened around her.

Her skill with a sword might rival his own, but her body was soft, a stark contrast to the bony elbows and solid thighs he’d shared a bed with until just a few weeks ago. For just a moment, Alibaba allowed himself to imagine cuddling up to Kougyoku at night instead, curled around her warmth, an arm draped over her waist and his nose buried in her sweet-smelling hair, placing a kiss on the back of her neck as she drifted off to sleep. That sounded lovely...

Alibaba could feel his face heating up again at the thought of it, a flame roaring to life somewhere inside of him.

“Kougyoku,” he said, voice firm. He stepped back to look her in the eye, hands on her shoulders, quite impassioned by his own small fantasy. He wanted this, he realized, he wanted to spend every day with her, he wanted to laugh with her and hold her hands and fall asleep with her. And most importantly, he wanted another kiss. “Let’s do it again.”

And to his amazement, Kougyoku obliged him with it. Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, she was leaning up on her toes, crashing her lips into his, just as eager as he, though too shy to say it. Alibaba sucked in a sharp breath, head spinning in surprise and from the heavy scent of her perfume, though he quickly found himself again, returning the kiss with increasing urgency. Kougyoku’s mouth was sweet and obliging, an invitation like no other, and soon Alibaba had slid his tongue between her lips, barely even noticing that he’d backed her against a stone column.

Her hands were in his hair, tugging at his clothes, pulling him against her far too desperately for this to be just a kiss between friends, _surely_. It was like nothing Alibaba had ever experienced, a heady rush of battle blurred with heat and desire and Sindrian wine, and with the slam of a heavy door at the near end of the gallery, it all disappeared in an instant.

Both of them had shrieked in surprise at the sight of Ka Koubun standing in the doorway, bathed in lamplight and glaring at them, clearly unimpressed. But even as Alibaba was shoved roughly away from the princess and she was corralled off to bed, he couldn’t help but grin, already excited to see Kougyoku again in the morning.

 


End file.
